The judge said the lawyers had made a preliminary showing that information obtained from Abu Zubaydah was relevant to the detainee's lawsuit and should not have been destroyed.

Roberts said he wants a report by February 14 explaining what the government has done to preserve evidence since his July 2005 court order, what it is doing now and whether any other potentially relevant evidence has been destroyed.

Dean Boyd, US justice department spokesman, gave no comment.

David Remes, a lawyer in a similar case who unsuccessfully sought information about the videotapes, praised the ruling.

"It was only a matter of time before a court ordered the government to account for its handling - or mishandling - of evidence in these cases," Remes said.